


Hybrid Hope

by OnLinedPaper



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Fluff, Platonic Relationships, help this is my first post, how do i make tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 10:37:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15817188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnLinedPaper/pseuds/OnLinedPaper
Summary: A human, three hybrids, a paralyzed Altean, and a Galra lost to time. Realistically, they don't stand a chance against the entire Galran empire - but they have each other, and that's more than enough.





	Hybrid Hope

**Author's Note:**

> A pilot story I put together and threw at my friends one night, wherein we wondered over flat soda and chex mix what Voltron would be like if the Galra didn't like hybrid races.

The sentries weren’t ever built with any sort of audio sensors that would’ve been able to pick up on important sound. It wasn’t exactly a fair contest, of course; for the most part, their targets were easier to see than hear, and the quiet metallic clank of a three-pronged green grapple latching onto the edge of the roof wasn’t easy to detect, either. The bayard it was attached to didn’t make any noise as it wound its occupants up; a quartet of black gloves found their way onto the ledge, and a matching quartet of eyes peered over the steel at the lone sentry on duty. The two infiltrators waited for their prey to turn its back, and then silently hopped over the ledge and darted behind a cooling unit. 

“Two and four in position,” the paladin clothed in green whispered. “Glenn and I are almost alone up here. One sentry – are we cleared to engage?”

“Moment please, Brie,” a quiet voice crackled into their headsets. “I’m shutting down its uplink now – done. Do it quiet.”

The green-armored paladin glanced over at her purple-robed companion and nodded to her, and then in one smooth motion, stood up and steadied her shoulder. Her bayard blasted its tether forward; the energy construct spiraled forward and punched clean through the steel, impaling the robotic sentry. It had no chance to move – Brie yanked it off its feet and dragged it straight into the air. 

The moon went behind a cloud, and a dark shape took flight from beside the green paladin. Glenn’s thrusters whispered a hint of exhaust as she propelled herself into the air, grabbing the sentry from the sky and landing on one knee. She grit her teeth, braced her hands between its torso and its skull, and strained – the metal creaked, split, and then tore, shattering the sentry in a flash of electricity. For a moment, everything was silent.

“Remind me to never piss you off,” their eye-in-the-sky whispered over their radio. Glenn chuckled and motioned Brie over. The two of them dashed across the roof, making their way for the access door. 

\- -

“I dunno about this, couldn’t we just take out a couple sentries like Glenn and Brie did?” 

A red-clad figure peered over the edge of the service platform she was standing on, staring down at the crackling electrical chasm below. 

“It’s the only way to the resources we need,” came the reply over their radios. “We need to give number one a chance to get inside. This energy grid provides power for the entire Galra structure – knock it out, and you’ll have the access you need.”

The radio fell silent; Aly frowned, a worried expression on her face.

“Ah, c’mon, Alicia,” came Hailey’s voice, “this isn’t going to be any worse than the other missions we’ve run before.” 

Aly huffed in response and unsheathed her bayard; the device glowed brightly before erupting vertically in her hands, curving backwards and sparking as a glowing red energy field crackled to life between the tips. 

“I’m not worried about that,” the red paladin grumbled, drawing back her bow. “I’m worried that he’s doing the wrong thing. Sentries go missing all the time, but an entire power grid falling at once?”

Aly released her grip on the energy field, letting loose a whistling bolt of energy that lanced its way across the chasm and impaled itself in a distant control panel. A speaker buzzed, extending a platform out into the open. Aly sighed, sheathing her bayard. 

“He’s biting off more than he can chew,” she finished. 

“Can we really say we have a better plan, though?” Hailey replied after thought. “He knows more about the Galra than any of us do. If he says it’s a good idea, well… he hasn’t given us reason not to trust him yet.” 

The taller of the two unsheathed her own bayard, whipping it back and forth in her hands. A dark crimson streak took form, shimmering and weaving like fishing line in great, long loops. Hailey turned a circle and swung her arm low; the energy beam soared into the air, wrapping around an energized pole far above and pulling itself secure and taut. 

“We’re gonna be fine,” she said. One red paladin extended her hand to the other. “Ready?”

\- -

“Halt,” the Galra guard commanded, holding out a clawed hand. Antiso frowned, looking annoyed, and waved his own hand dismissively. 

“Out of my way,” he said with a huff, “I’ve no time for chitchat.”

The guards glanced at one another from beneath glowing red visors; in unison, they raised their blasters, moving slowly forward. 

“This is a restricted entrance,” the taller one on the left growled. “Admission is forbidden without proper authorization.”

“Admission? Authorization? Words, words, words,” Antiso sighed. “You could’ve just asked to see my invitation.”

The shorter guard on the right straightened up in surprise.

“You… have an invitation?” he said. 

“Oh, certainly,” Antiso replied, unsheathing his bayard. “It’s right here.”

The ceremonial garb did nothing to slow his movements; Antiso catapulted forward, spinning in midair as his bayard clamped onto his forearm. The miniature plasma cannon took form and energized in an instant; before he even landed, the blue paladin took aim and fired two quick shots, both of which stunned the guards before their faces could even register surprise. He landed easily on his feet as his foes dropped to their faces, smirking as he straightened his clothes over fur so purple it was almost black.

“Honestly, so rude,” he chided, sheathing his bayard and turning to walk into the compound. “Didn’t your superiors teach you to treat your fellow Galra with respect?” 

\- -

Quietly, Brie crept through the darkened hallway, bayard at the ready. Behind her, Glenn inched slowly forward, the ruined sentry’s blaster in her hands. Her robes swished against the ground in quiet contrast to the clack of the green paladin’s boots; a thruster kit was all the larger of the two could afford to wear, and even that she now slipped off and tucked away into a waste receptacle. Ahead of them was a security panel and a duo of sentries, both facing their direction. 

“You ready?” Brie asked quietly. Her companion smoothed out her dress, took a deep breath, and nodded. 

“Base, we are go for the switch,” Glenn said; the almost invisibly small communicator in her ear whispered its affirmation.

“Roger that, number four. Wait for my cue, number one is still en route. Let me see if, I think… yeah, he heard us. Antiso is gonna be a couple more seconds. Go over the plan again and watch the panel; when you see it turn green, you know what to do. Base, out.”

Glenn glanced at Brie; the green paladin reached out with an armored hand and smoothed the shoulder strap on her friend’s dress, resting beneath the traditional Galran robes she’d worn on her way in. The two of them fidgeted nervously, waiting for their signal. A moment passed, and then another.

“Do you think-” Brie began, but was cut off before she could continue. Behind the guards, a panel turned green; the sentries shuddered and straightened up, before turning to the panel and flanking it. In unison, they activated their speakers.

“APPROACH PANEL FOR BIOMETRICS ENTRY, CANDIDATE.” 

“That’s your cue, Glenn,” Brie said. “Remember, they’re going to think you’re Galran. Put your hand on the panel to register yourself in the system, and then ask to be escorted to the main event. The rest of us will be waiting for phase two.”

Glenn nodded and straightened up, and then walked out of the corner and approached the security panel. She tried not to worry; after all, she was only about to hijack a Galran biometric scanner, meet with her Galran teammate, and infiltrate a Galran ceremony before impersonating a Galran champion and stealing one of the Galran’s greatest weapons. She sighed to herself – trying not to worry was going to be about as difficult as this heist.

\- -

The two red paladins landed heavily on the final platform, stumbling for a step or two before coming to a stop. Hailey diffused the energy beam and stretched her shoulder, rubbing the joint that had bore their combined weight for the last several swings. 

“Hey princess, we’re in position. Got any aspirin or something for all that swinging? I still don’t see why we can’t just use our jetpacks.”

What came next was either an exasperated sigh or a burst of static, but the two grinned either way.

“Is it too much to ask that you just call me Niroc? Honestly, the radio security protocols aren’t necessary anymore, we know the Galra can’t intercept this frequency. And that’s a negative on the jetpacks – their energy will destabilize the power grid, and if that happens, then we’re gonna be at a blackout a lot sooner than expected. Bayards only, got it?” 

“No problem, princess,” Aly replied. 

It was definitely a sigh that time – static couldn’t sound quite so disgruntled. Aly smirked and pulled the breaker panel off of the wall. 

“Alright, base, walk me through it,” she said, squinting in the red glow of the energy arcs.

“Disconnect the secondary and tertiary power couplings, and then attach an isolation valve to the primary source. Calibrate it for 15 gigajoules, and-”

“In english, please,” Aly said. 

“In…? Hmph. Cut the red and blue wires and then stick the tube thingy on the white one.”

“Thank you, princess,” she replied, cutting the radio before Niroc could bite back with a retort. The actual preparations only took a moment; two wires cut, and then the valve. Aly reached forward with the isolator, but recoiled when the white wire shocked her and started to glow, red energy crackling along its length.

Aly narrowed her eyes and shook her hand before trying again, this time quickly snapping the isolator valve onto the rapidly heating wire. The platform they were standing on shuddered, but after a moment, the red energy crackling along the walls dimmed. Aly and Hailey exhaled a breath they hadn’t realized they were holding.

“Three and five are in position,” Hailey radioed in, reopening the connection. “Phase two is a go.”

“Well done, you two,” Niroc replied. “Get topside as soon as you can – that isolator will buy you a few doboshes, but it’ll blow eventually, and you definitely don’t want to be down there when that happens.” 

Hailey glanced at Aly; the two unsheathed their bayards in unison, ready to make their way to the surface again. Hailey whipped her energy beam back and forth to lengthen it before sending it sailing towards the ceiling; Aly drew back her bow, exhaled slowly, and then loosed a bolt of crimson energy, ensnaring the tip of Hailey’s lash and carrying it all the way up to the roof. The two crimson paladins joined hands once more, and leapt. 

\- -

“Antiso, Glenn is being escorted now, are you almost in position?”

The Galran paladin made an annoyed sound as he flipped above a blaster bolt, tucking his arms in and spiraling feet first into the sentry that had loosed it. The machine shattered as it slammed into the ground, but there was no pause in his momentum – the paladin tucked his head low to his chest and wrapped his legs around the sentry’s metallic neck, momentum carrying him into the ground. He somersaulted forward, launching the sentry into the air, and then took to the sky behind it with a powerful leap, using the tattered metallic body to shield himself from the remaining two sentries’ blaster bolts. With a hiss, Antiso slammed into his targets, knocking them all to the floor. Arcs of electricity crackled from the damaged robotic joints as the three units’ lights powered down.

“Bit of a delay,” he said, straightening up. “Our hosts were being rude. I’ll be there when she is.”

The Galran paladin winced and flexed his shoulder; his bayard might afford his forearm some protection, but paladin armor would have stood out too much, and he wasn’t used to fighting without it. Antiso glanced around and heaved the sentries off into a side corridor, sealing the door behind him with a touch and strolling leisurely over to the intersection where he was to meet his teammate. Right on cue, Glenn came around the corner, escorted to the event by a pair of sentries. 

“Ah, there you are,” he said, extending his hand and bowing his head. “Vrepit sa, my lord.”

“Vrepit sa,” Glenn replied, taking his hand. The sentries turned and returned to their stations, never even realizing the true nature of their guests.

“Hood up,” Antiso reminded Glenn. “Luckily for you, the gladiator who’s supposed to receive tonight’s honors has a tendency to cover his face, too. Don’t let your voice give you away.”

“How’s this?” Glenn asked, imitating a rough growl. 

Antiso cracked a smile. 

“Not quite. Try to sound a little more like you secretly want to overthrow the emperor and take over the world.”

“Aurgh,” she tried again, “I’m a big deadly Galran, I want to go bench press smaller Galrans for seven hours a day.”

“Really?” a voice said from behind them. “Seven hours a day?”

The paladins froze. Slowly, each turned to face the voice. An imposing Galran general stood before them – at least seven feet tall, missing an eye, and packing enough strength to crush a car with one hand. For a moment, no one spoke… and then the massive Galran laughed out loud and slapped Glenn on the back.

“Smaller Galrans – oh, that is rich! If my battalion sharpened their blades as often as you sharpen your wit, Master Virian, I’ve no doubt this insurrection would be crushed in a year.”

Glenn chuckled nervously, glancing at Antiso. He nodded imperceptibly, and then bowed to the general. 

“Vrepit sa, my lord. I am Master Virian’s escort for the night.” the Galran paladin glanced around surreptitiously, and then leaned in close. “We’d planned on a… private conversation with a few of the other generals. Have we enough time before the ceremony begins?” 

“Oh, I’d assume so,” the one-eyed general replied, voice low. “The lot of them are in the same private quarters you are, top floor.”

“My thanks, lord,” Antiso replied smoothly. “Vrepit sa.”

He swept forward before the general could reply, pulling Glenn along towards the elevator. As each held the hand of the other, both paladins could feel their companion trembling. 

\- -

“Base, what’s the status?” Brie whispered, crawling to the edge of the roof and peering down to the compound below. 

“One and four are en route to Virian’s quarters. They’ll, you know, convince him not to go to the ceremony, and then take his place. Three and five are on their way up; they’ll be joining you in a moment. The power outage ought to kick in right as the main ceremony begins; Glenn’s in the system, so in the confusion she should be able to unlock the biometric cage around the bayard and claim it for herself. What happens after that is up to you paladins, just make sure you get home safe.”

“Roger that,” Brie replied. “Over and out.”

The silence wasn’t exactly frightening, but the green paladin still wasn’t exactly comfortable on her own up top. Glenn’s absence was noticeable in more ways than one, and despite herself, Brie was on edge without her friend beside her. 

“Come on, come on,” she said quietly, uncomfortable at how little she could see from up here. The silence stretched, growing longer and longer as the moon rose higher into the sky. 

Several doboshes later, Brie tapped her radio again. 

“Two to base, what’s the status?” She asked again. 

“Still in progress,” Niroc replied. “Antiso and Glenn are in Virian’s quarters now; I suspect they’ll be done in a little while. I’m not sure what’s holding up Hales and Aly – they should be on their way right now. You alright? This channel’s encrypted, but the call itself can still be traced.”

“Yeah, I’m just a little on edge up here,” Brie admitted. “I don’t like how quiet it is.”

“Well,” a voice growled from behind her, “You won’t have to worry about that anymore.” 

The green paladin’s heart leapt into her throat; before she could move, a tremendous weight slammed into her back, knocking the wind from her lungs.

“Brie! What’s going on?!”

Niroc’s alarmed voice seemed suddenly far away; before she could reply, a huge purple hand reached down and crushed the transmitter chip on her wrist between its fingers. 

“One paladin, all alone and trying to call for help?” the Galran soldier snarled. “Not to worry. You’ll be dead long before they arrive.”

\- -

“So what do you think, Glenn or Antiso?” Haley asked, heaving Aly out of the maintenance hatch. 

“Glenn,” Aly replied, kicking the hatch shut and sitting on it with a huff. “Totally Glenn. Doesn’t matter if Antiso’s a Galran, I heard Brie say that girl could wrestle a horse. Niroc would be wearing that dress whether he wanted to or not.”

“But...” Hailey said, lowering her voice and smiling wryly, “I actually caught Antiso red-handed the other day, flipping through a Galran fashion magazine. He tried to claim it was because he was “researching the enemy” and “catching up on fashion trends since he awoke from cryosleep”, but if that was really the case, then he wouldn’t have been looking at the empress’s spring collection, would he?”

“What!” Aly gasped, hiding a giggle behind her glove. “So you think that because Antiso knows Niroc so well, he’d be able to talk him into wearing the dress himself?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, and when it happens...” Hailey twirled her hand, mimicking a pencil drawing on paper. “...he’s never gonna live it down!”

The two red paladins burst into laughter, holding their sides and smiling with a joy the city didn’t share… but were cut short when Aly bent over, mirth turned to pain as a coughing fit overtook her voice. 

“Whoa, hey, easy there. Breathe, Alicia, breathe,” Hailey said, putting a hand on Aly’s back. 

Her throat unlocked after a moment; Aly straightened up and nodded, wiping the corners of her mouth with the red part of her armor. She glanced down despite herself, not wanting to confirm it but already certain of what she’d see. The color of her armor was fortunate, in a way: without it, the blood would’ve been harder to hide. 

“...It’s getting worse, isn’t it,” Hailey asked. 

Aly sighed, staring at the miscolored splotch on her armor, and nodded after a moment. 

“Yeah. It… feels like my throat’s still really dry and scratchy. It’s getting lower, the uh, the feeling… you know, like it’s…”

Neither of them finished that sentence, but both of them knew what she was about to say next: “...moving towards my lungs.”

“You’re gonna be fine, Alicia,” Hailey said firmly, looking Aly in the eye. The younger paladin smiled and nodded, and then stepped forward and hugged her companion. For a moment, the two of them just stood, weight replacing the lightheartedness they’d felt a moment before but still nothing next to the companionship they had.

A burst of static over their radios made them both flinch in surprise. 

“Ugh, universe, can we please have a moment for like just a second?” Aly sighed in exasperation.

“Aly, Hales!” The panic in Niroc’s voice brought them both instantly to full alert.

“We’re here,” Hailey said, “What is it?”

“I’ve lost contact with Brie, her transceiver isn’t pinging anymore! I think she’s in trouble – you need to find her, now! I’m sending her last known coordinates to you!”

The paladins’ HUDs pinged and lit up, highlighting the building where their friend was in distress.

“We have it,” Aly said, “We’re on our way!!” 

Without another word, the paladins sprinted towards the building, activated their thrusters, and blasted into the sky. 

\- -

“He really shoulda just agreed not to go to the party,” Glenn said, shaking out her hand. “Honestly, though, aren’t Galrans supposed to take more than one punch to knock out?”

“Typically,” Antiso said, drawing out the word thoughtfully. “That being said, for all his gladitorial prowess, this one was also a coward - most Galrans would fight any number of intruders, rather than try to radio for help as soon as they were outnumbered.”

“Is that what this thing was, a radio?” Glenn asked, picking up the tattered scraps of metal that had only moments ago been a very expensive piece of equipment.  
Antiso nodded his affirmation and glanced around the room.

“If we’re still on schedule, they should be up to escort us in a moment or two. Let’s deal with our host.” 

The Galran paladin planted his feet firmly and hoisted their unconscious target into the air, dragging him into the bathroom and jamming the door’s control panel shut with a punch. When Antiso returned, Glenn was all but finished donning the Master’s ceremonial armor. 

“That’s a good look on you,” Antiso chuckled. “You sure you’re not half Galran?”

“Oh, very funny, popsicle. Niroc’s sense of humor must’ve rubbed off on you after all that time you spent in cryo-sleep with him. Remind me again how long it was?”

“Hmph, ten thousand deca-phoebs,” Antiso grumbled, straightening out his own ceremonial garb. “Though to be fair, he came out much worse for the wear. At least the only thing I lost was the empire I was part of. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to wake up… and...”

“Not be able to walk,” Glenn finished quietly. 

An uneasy silence stretched between them. For an instant, Glenn thought she caught a glimpse of a tear in the corner of her Galran companion’s eye. 

“Hey, you alright?” the purple paladin asked, concern in her voice. 

Antiso blinked and nodded; whatever his expression held, Glenn couldn’t read it as clearly as she could Brie or Hailey’s. 

“Just… nerves,” he said, forcing a laugh. “There’s a lot resting on tonight. The last bayard, you know? I would’ve thought the Galrans had wised up after we stole the third one, but… who knows? Maybe we’re in luck. The empire really has changed.”

Before Glenn could reply, the door hissed open, admitting a sentry who stood at attention and a Galran warrior with a fearsome blade at his side.

“Master Virian, your moment of glory awaits,” the warrior said, saluting and kneeling before the impostor. 

Glenn glanced over at Antiso, gave him a tiny smile and nod, and then swept her robes about her body and strode confidently forward.

“And so it does,” she said as she passed, stepping out into the hallway.

\- -

Brie’s arm shot out to the side, but before she could even extend it all the way, the Galran warrior slammed his foot down, cracking the composite plastic and eliciting a cry from the green paladin. She turned her head and grit her teeth, trying not to let her fear show as the Galran gloated with a low laugh.

“If you meant to attack with a blaster, you’ll need to be much quicker than that,” he chided. 

Brie gave the warrior a defiant look and unsheathed her bayard; the familiar weight materialized in her pinned arm, and she smirked. This next part was going to hurt, but her composite armor wasn’t even a tenth as conductive as the warrior’s hybrid steel plating – he would catch the worst of it by far.

“I… wasn’t trying to… attack you,” she said, fighting to breathe past the weight of the foot on her back. “And no matter… how fast you are… you can’t outrun electricity!”

The green paladin’s bayard erupted with light, blasting out its familiar green beam of energy. Three claws spiraled into life behind it as it took on its hooked grapple form; the beam solidified and punched straight through the generator she’d been aiming for, drawing a line of electricity back towards its owner. Even from her position below the warrior’s feet, Brie caught the Galran’s eyes widening in surprise. A moment later, there was very little else besides pain. 

The generator must have been carrying a tremendous amount of power; even through her insulted armor, Brie’s body locked up from the raw energy coursing through it. She shouted in pain, but was drowned out by the infuriated roar of the Galran warrior. Blue arcs of electricity crackled and spat as they arced their way between his armor and body; even through her helmet, Brie caught wind of the smell of burning hair, and had to fight the queasiness in her stomach on top of the tremendous pain. 

A moment later, the generator’s breaker tripped, cutting the power from its unintentional circuit. Paladin and warrior collapsed at the same time, both breathing heavily and neither moving. Brie shakily withdrew her bayard; the energy hook returned to its default form, a thin green blade hovering an inch above her hand. She pulled herself to her knees, and then slowly tried to stand as the strength returned to her body.

“Two to base,” she said, “Two to base. Niroc, are you there?” 

It took her a moment to remember her transceiver had been destroyed; without a way to contact the others, she had no choice but to cut and run. As much as she hated to do it, without the ability to communicate, she was only going to be a liability at this point… again. She could practically already hear the lecture Niroc would give her when she got back.  
Brie cast a glance at the compound below, hoping that her friends would be able to complete the mission without her. The green paladin turned to leave – and caught the Galran warrior’s dagger slash, right across her chest.

\- -

The distance between the buildings couldn’t close rapidly enough. Hailey and Aly leapt nimbly from wall to wall, thrusters pulsing and hissing in time with their jumps.

“Niroc, did you get anything?” Aly asked breathlessly.

“Negative!” he replied, “I’ve got nothing – no, wait, I’m detecting a burst of electromagnetic energy on top of the roof, forty meters to your left! A generator just overloaded, and it’s too soon for the blackout we have planned! It has to be her!”

“We’re on our way!” Hailey shouted, unsheathing her bayard. “Aly, you’re up first!”

“Got it!” Aly said, extending her arm.

Hailey whipped her arm out in front of her and hooked it sharply backwards, extending her bayard until it snapped into Aly’s outstretched hand. With a grunt, the older paladin reversed her thrusters and blasted backwards, snapping the line taut and spinning the two of them around. The g-forces made it hard to breathe, but after just an instant, the maneuver they’d practiced so many times was ready – Hailey let her bayard extend to full length, rocketing Aly forward at twice the speed her thrusters could’ve carried her. The younger of the two crimson paladins unsheathed her own bayard, drew back on the bowstring… and for a moment, time slowed to a crawl.

The edge of the roof drifted past; with all the leisure of a dream, Aly watched as Brie came into view, caught mid-step as she staggered backwards with a hand over her chest. A thin line of blood continued past the slash in her armor where her body stopped, tracing its way smoothly back to the tip of the sword in the Galran warrior’s hands. Aly’s eyes narrowed in cold, focused fury, and for an instant, Brie’s assailant met her own eyes, a look of fury mirrored on his own face. Aly’s fingers slackened, and time began once more.

The crimson bolt of energy shrieked as it left its paladin’s bayard, slicing through the air and embedding itself inside of the Galran warrior’s eye. He howled in pain and staggered back, but it was already far too late for him to react beyond such measures. Aly’s grip tightened on the energy beam from Hailey’s bayard; their thrusters ignited themselves in unison, and Aly pivoted in the air, swinging her companion around and launching her at their Galran target. 

“Don’t QUIZNACK with my FRIENDS!” Hailey shouted, spiraling towards her prey. The Galran put his arms up to defend himself, but at the speed she was going, it didn’t matter – Hailey slammed feet first into the Galran’s chest, her composite armor locking up to absorb the impact in her legs. Even as light as she was, her mass combined with Aly’s momentum was more than enough to blast the Galran off the roof. His roar faded into the distance, and neither of the crimson paladins heard him hit the ground.

“Brie!” Hailey shouted, scrambling to her feet and running over to their fallen friend. Aly’s own thrusters extinguished themselves; she landed on the roof and ran over to the green paladin, pulling off her helmet and looking down at the wound across Brie’s chest.

“Oh… oh, quiznack, that’s bad,” Aly said, tapping her transceiver. “Niroc, we found Brie. We dealt with the attacker, but she’s in bad shape – we’ve gotta get her out of here, or she’s not going to last very long!”

Brie groaned and fumbled around her neckline with one hand until her own helmet came off, gasping in the cool night air and shivering despite the heat from her suit. 

“Brie, stay with me,” Hailey said, clutching her friend’s hand tightly. “We’re gonna get you out of here, just try to stay awake.”

“I’m f-fine,” Brie lied, pressing her free hand to her chest. “Go – go help the others. You... need to complete the mission.”

“Fuck the mission, we’re getting you out of here,” Hailey repeated in a voice that left no room for debate. She slid her arms under Brie and struggled to her feet, grunting as her thrusters kicked in to help her keep her balance.

“Base, we’ve got Brie secured. We’re going to move her somewhere safe,” Aly said, putting her hands under Brie to help Hailey carry her.

“Roger that, number three,” Niroc said. “Don’t bother with a hideout, though; instead, just come on home. I’m calling it here, the mission is aborted – we’ll get Glenn and Antiso out and regroup back at the base to rethink this.”

Aly met Hailey’s eyes. They both knew that after tonight, the Galra weren’t going to give them another chance. It couldn’t be helped, though – when choosing between a bayard and the life of a friend, neither paladin had difficulty in deciding what had to be done.

“On our way back,” Aly replied tiredly. “Over and out.”

\- -

“Antiso, Glenn, there’s been a change of plans,” Niroc said. “Brie took a serious hit, and she’s badly injured. Aly and Hales are bringing her back – we’re going to need to pull out and rethink our approach. Get back to base as soon as possible.”

“That’s gonna be a little tricky, Niroc,” Antiso murmured, trying hard not to let his voice rise to the point where a Galran ear might pick it up. There were hundreds of them, after all, and every pair of eyes was on Glenn and the druid reciting the storied history of the Galran empire. 

“No choice,” Niroc replied, “You have to get out of there now. You’ve got no backup, and we’re down three paladins – there’s no guarantee you’ll get out safely if things get quiznacked.”

“Things are going to get quiznacked anyway if you don’t shut up,” the Galran paladin hissed, “You’re distracting Glenn! She cannot afford to-”

Antiso became abruptly and acutely aware that the druid had stopped speaking, and was looking in his direction.

“Is there a problem, lieutenant?” the druid asked. 

“Ah, no,” Antiso hastily replied, “Just- the tale of the first empire’s fall always fills me with rage. To think that we were brought low by such a pathetic race...”

The druid regarded him carefully from behind his mask. Antiso shifted nervously, trying not to let his body give lie to his fear. 

“Indeed it does,” the druid replied slowly, bringing forth the bayard from its ceremonial chest. “Well, in that case, I see this as a splendid exercise in control, which all Galran warriors should strive for. As you know, the empire’s greatest defeat was at the gate of Azorath, eight thousand deca-phoebs past – do, please, recite emperor Zontor’s final ode for us as he fell to a hundred Altean warriors. I feel it fits the occasion quite well.”

Dread settled in Antiso’s throat: despite his best efforts, there was ten thousand deca-phoebs of history for him to catch up on, and he’d heard nothing of this Galran defeat.

“Ah… yes, the ode, of course,” Antiso said, swallowing nervously. “The, uh… ahem. The Alteans are nothing but scum, the Galran empire falls at this quintant but will rise again. We will rule, and conquer the universe, and… you know… Alteans suck.”

The entire congregation of Galrans stared at him. Antiso coughed and tugged at the collar of his ceremonial uniform.

“Uh, is it just me, or is kinda warm in here?” he chuckled nervously.

“It’s just you,” the druid said, handing Glenn the bayard and wreathing his slender hand in shimmering purple quintessence. 

Antiso’s eyes widened; he stumbled back as the druid lunged forward, bringing the glowing magic down in an arc and slashing at the blue paladin’s neck. The Galran’s eyes picked out the battle details faster than his mind, and his blood chilled – that swing was going to hit without fail; he had seconds to live. Time seemed to slow as the harshly glowing energy grew closer and closer to his throat… but at the last instant, the swing came up short.

“What…?” the druid breathed. 

He turned to look behind him – one of Glenn’s hands was closed around the druid’s wrist, and in the other, she held the purple bayard.

“It cannot be… two imposters?” The druid whispered.

The purple paladin winked at the druid, and in her hand, the bayard came to life. 

Gold and purple light erupted from the off-colored Galran creation – in the instant before it transformed, Antiso caught sight of the design. The shape was mostly the same, but in sharp contrast to the other bayards, this one was predominantly black, with gold where the white should be and purple accents in place of its normal color. Intricate designs were etched and inlaid into the hilt, and as black and purple energy seeped forth from Glenn’s hand, Antiso could practically feel the hairs on his arm rising. There was no mistaking it – that bayard was infused with quintessence. 

In less than half a tick, the bayard’s form was complete. A black stock, grip, and barrel spiraled into life; each was quickly overlaid with purple plating, with gold accents and a glowing slide. Almost gracefully, golden lights the color of a Galran’s eyes lit up along the exterior and underside of the weapon. The congregation, Antiso, and even the druid himself stared in disbelief at what the bayard had become.

“Huh. Always figured it was gonna be something like that,” Glenn said. 

She tossed the bayard lightly in the air, caught it by the slide, and racked her new shotgun with one hand. A low-pitched hum rose from the bayad as it powered up; the purple paladin flipped it back into her hand, turned to the druid, and gave him a wicked grin. If Antiso wasn’t so frightened, he would’ve laughed out loud – the druid’s magic evaporated in an instant, and a wet spot spread slowly down his ceremonial leggings.

\- -

Metal feet crunched against worn gravel as a pair of sentries marched past, sensors sweeping the ground for any trace of the city that was amiss. It was hard to determine what price one should pay for peace, but the paladins crouched in the blind alleyway knew this was too much to ask – order and fear were two different concepts, but the Galrans had long forgotten how to differentiate between them. 

“That’s the last patrol”, Niroc crackled through the radio. “Blackout in four doboshes. We have to get Brie back here before then, or the healing pod won’t have enough energy to start up.”

“It… won’t take us that long,” Brie gasped, struggling to breathe clearly.

“Save your strength,” Hailey hissed, squeezing her friend’s hand. “Aly, are we clear to move?”

“We’re clear,” the taller paladin whispered back. “Door’s only gonna open for a second, though – let’s hurry.”

“Got it,” the red and green paladin replied in unison.

Brie struggled to her feet with Hailey’s support, and the paladins crept forward into the street. Their footsteps seemed far too loud in the silence, though Niroc’s intelligence hadn’t been wrong – the drones were indeed gone, and the next patrol was yet to arrive. The three paladins, each bearing their own crimson marks, leapt over the ditch on the other side of the street and ran straight for the wall at the end of a blind alley, marked heavily with graffiti. 

“I see you,” Niroc said. “Ten ticks to arrival… five… opening the door... now!”

Brie and Hailey shut their eyes instinctively, and the three paladins ran headfirst into the wall… falling straight through the hologram, and into the tunnels they called home. The false barrier behind the hologram slid shut behind them, and even before the paladins’ eyes adjusted to the darkness, they were on the move.

“I’m already warming the pod up,” Niroc said over the radio, signal much clearer now that they were in the tunnels. “Two doboshes to blackout – and the pod takes eighty ticks to fill. Please, please tell me you’re almost here...”

“Almost,” Aly panted, hefting Brie and putting more speed in her step. “We won’t have time to get her armor off.”

“I can… do that… in the pod,” Brie panted, pale in the face from the exertion and pain. 

“Come on,” Hailey muttered, “come on, hang in there, we’re almost… we’re here, we’re here!”

The paladins rounded the corner, and Niroc was there.

In another life, he could have been called fair, perhaps even handsome – but the years had taken their toll on him, and Niroc’s face was far too tired to evoke the vitality of such descriptors anymore. Nevertheless, the pride of an Altean still burned in his heart, and it had never been more evident than now.

“Come on, you have twenty ticks,” he said, fingers flying across the control panel. The two crimson paladins helped Brie into the pod; she gasped and clutched her chest, but still managed to fit the respirator over her mouth without help. 

“Alright, back up, back up! Pod’s closing!” Niroc said.

The two paladins pulled their arms clear of the pod just as its makeshift lid slammed down, locking itself into place. Stolen parts hissed and creaked as the cobbled-together device slowly came to life. Niroc placed his hands on the console and shut his eyes; a pulse of blue energy shimmered to life beneath his palms, evoking a matching glow from the fluid slowly pooling around Brie’s ankles. The pod cycled up and began to fill with what felt like impossible lethargy; each paladin silently counted down the ticks in their head, hoping against hope that they’d make it. 

The silence stretched.

“Forty ticks...” Niroc murmured.

And stretched.

“Twenty...”

For the second time that day, time seemed to slow down.

“Ten… five...”

Not even an instant before the lights flickered out, the pod’s indicators flashed green – and then, the darkness enveloped them.

Niroc fell back in his hoverchair and breathed a sigh of relief.

“She’s safe,” he said, laughing with disbelief in the darkness. “We… we made it.”

The paladins let out a breath they didn’t realize they were holding, and sat down heavily next to each other, Aly leaning on Hailey’s shoulder for support.

“Too close,” the crimson paladin said, pulling Aly’s helmet off and wrapping her arms around the younger paladin.

“Yeah, but that’s how we live, isn’t it? Every day,” Niroc said, giving them a tired smile. The sound of a creak echoed through the room as he leaned back in his hoverchair; a moment later he cursed and fell backwards onto his head, having completely forgotten that it had lost power too.

“Quiznack!” he spat. “Of all the… does anyone have a light?”

Aly muffled a giggle with her hand and touched the helmet sitting beside her; it cast faint light into the room, just enough to see by.

“Gonna move myself. I don’t need help,” Niroc said quickly, as both paladins started to stand. The Altean pulled himself along the ground and sat with a heavy sigh, leaning against the pod and lifting his immobile legs into a more comfortable position.

“Welp, guess that’s that,” he said, knocking on the pod he was leaning against.

Brie’s reply came through as a muffled clang, and then a series of hissing noises as she began to detach her armor. 

“Looks like we’re gonna be here for a while,” Niroc said, turning to his paladins. “All we can do now is… well… wait.”

\- -

Half a varga had never felt so quiet before. Brie had finished removing her armor 20 doboshes ago, and all the paladins could think to do in the darkness was wait. Aly, at least, was able to drift off against her sister’s shoulder, but the Altean and the older paladin were kept awake by anxiety. None of them had expected the blackout to last more than a few doboshes – and all of them knew the other paladins were supposed to be back by now. The silence was broken only by the occasional sound of one red paladin shifting against another, and the quiet dripping of the leaky pod from somewhere the Altean couldn’t reach to fix.

After far too long, Niroc glanced up in the dim light of Aly’s helmet, tilting his head to one side. 

“I think I hear them,” he said, a measure of hopeful relief in his voice. “They must’ve… of course, I’ll bet they went in through the sewers, since all the barriers are locked down. Come on… oof.” Niroc shifted himself against the pod, putting his hands under his knees and pulling his legs into a more comfortable position. 

Hailey nudged her sleeping companion, who blinked and picked her head up slowly before looking around.

“Hey, sleepyhead, they’re here,” the older paladin said, rubbing Aly’s cheek with a gloved hand.

Aly nodded and sat up, rubbing her eyes and then leaning back against the wall. 

“Let her sleep,” Niroc murmured. “It’s been a long day.” 

Hailey nodded and stood, activating her own helmet lights. 

“I’ll go get the others and bring ‘em back. Don’t go anywhere,” she teased.

“Oh, very funny,” Niroc grumbled, smiling in spite of himself. “Good thing I’ve got you to keep me sharp - be a real shame if I forgot my legs don’t work.”

The fifth paladin smiled and poked her tongue out at her Altean mentor, before turning and trotting down the hall, heading off in the direction of the sounds too faint for human ears to hear. Niroc’s intuition hadn’t been wrong – two doboshes later, she returned, and the paladin team was complete once more.

“Ah, you made it,” Niroc said, waving as Antiso and Glenn walked in. The Galran paladin gave him a thumbs-up and a grin, before wincing and rubbing his arm. 

“Yes, well, thankfully, Galran poetry isn’t as important as I thought it was.”

Niroc raised an eyebrow at Glenn, but she just shrugged and shook her head.

“Got the bayard,” she said, holding up the Galran creation. 

A thousand expressions flickered over Niroc’s face at the sight of it.

“Indeed. That’s… good. Hmm. Seems the Galrans have made some changes.” 

“Still works just fine,” the purple paladin said, unsheathing it and catching the massive firearm before its weight dented the floor. “Sorry for, you know, uh… not aborting the mission when you said.”

“Tch, you came back safe, and that’s what’s important. I’m just glad I still have my fami… ah… five paladins in one piece.”

Niroc cleared his throat quickly and adjusted his position against the pod, making sure Brie could still hear him.

“Anyway, more to the point. We’ve got all five bayards now, and that means we’ve got a glimmer of hope here. The Galrans are tough, but they’re not invincible. And no,” he said, noticing Glenn glancing down at her own bayard, “the bayards will help, but I’m afraid I haven’t told you the whole story behind them. They’re more than just morphic weapons, more than just a symbol of power.” 

The paladins perked up, attention focusing on Niroc. His voice was changing – it seemed stronger, more filled with life, than they’d heard in a long time. He sounded hopeful, and almost… longing. 

“The bayards are Altean creations, and when they were first forged ten thousand deca-phoebs ago, they were sacred icons, symbols of peace, and part of something much greater than themselves, as you will become as well. Fate is calling you to become one of the greatest forces in the universe, and tonight, your journey to that destiny will truly begin. Tell me, paladins...”

Niroc smiled, and all at once, the paladins felt something stirring in their hearts – the heartbeats of one another, the will of their group combined, a call to something that was no longer beyond their grasp. 

“...have you heard tell of the legends of Voltron?”


End file.
